


Women Of War

by Ambrose



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: (or at least the important ones), Alcohol (ab)use, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, F/F, Finn is as much an asshole in this as in canon, Gen, also probably going to be, and probably minor, clexa and linctavia will only be later on, jsyk if you're here for that specifically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-08-29 12:25:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8489632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambrose/pseuds/Ambrose
Summary: Raven lands on Earth... Only just not where she expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a story based on this idea for a long time, I really hope I can do it justice! Oh, and I can't promise much about future updates, but I can say this: even if it might get very close, I'm not gonna kill any of our favourite ladies!

Raven had done her best to set her pod's coordinates to a clearing near where the kids had landed, but she wasn't exactly working in the best conditions, and even a genius like herself couldn't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - whatever that meant nowadays. Not that Abby had a clear idea of the kids' landing area since they'd lost contact with them, and no-one had even thought of putting GPS trackers on them to see where they were. It wasn't like there were enough satellites rotating uselessly around the earth, or like they were _living on a giant one_! She hadn't felt like the Council were this stupid in a long while!

But then she had other things to worry about, what with people coming for Abby, and her last-second escape. When she lost control of her pod, and right before she passed out, she just hoped, if the ground was habitable (and she had no doubt of that), she'd wake up to a friendly face. If she crashed; if she died then; she'd never see Finn again. And countless people would die! It needed to work! She needed to make it work, she needed to make it to the ground and find them, warn the Ark before it was too late!

 

When Raven came back to her senses, she first noticed pain flaring up in her body, from her back and legs to the throbbing ache in her head and behind her eyes. But she was alive! As she opened her eyes more fully, trying uselessly to blink away the pain, the light of the sun only made her headache worse. She looked around, trying to move. There was blood on the glass of her helmet, and she struggled with her aching arms to take it off, before she felt gentle hands help her take it away. She blinked at the person standing at the side of her pod, a tall woman, with sharp features and even sharper eyes, who stepped back and peered at her warily the second she had finished taking the helmet away. Well, it wasn't that she was wary of her, Raven soon realised. She was clearly hurt, and useless in a fight, the woman had nothing to fear from her really, but she was still careful, like she was weighing her, trying to decide if she could trust her, if she'd be an ally or enemy; if she would throw herself at her in spite of her terrible odds, like hurt animals did (so Raven was told). But Raven, however hurt, was cleverer than that.

"You're not one of the hundred," she observed. She may have just been passed out, but even in her hazy state she could still recognize a kid from the Ark, she'd seen most of these during her visit to Finn, and besides, she was certain the Council didn't hand them furs to keep them warm. The stranger was wrapped in piles of them. "Who are you?"

"You're hurt," the stranger noted, matter-of-factly, not bothering to answer. 

Raven brought her hand to her forehead. "Just a bit of blood. I've seen worse."

Still, when she tried getting out of her pod to stand up, she felt dizzy, and sat back down. She ignored her difficulties. If there were humans on earth - humans who had survived, which was a miracle all on its own - the hundred, Finn included, should be alive! And, more importantly, she might gain some info as to where they were, and the world they were in, if she played her cards right, and for that she really didn't want to look weird. She really hoped the delinquents that shared Finn's plight hadn't managed to start a war already. She knew some of them who certainly wouldn't hesitate. 

"Who are you?" she asked again. 

"I'm the General whose village your ship nearly destroyed, so you're not asking the questions here." 

Woah. Bossy. Raven smiled. That sparring match looked like it would be fun! "Well, you said it yourself, I'm hurt, so it obviously wasn't voluntary. If I wanted to destroy your village I'd have done it without a scratch to myself, no offense."

"You make it sound like you're a genius, but you _did_ crash right into our fence," the General bit back. 

"Well, see if you can fix a hundred years old ship in two days, with half the parts, without being caught, and then run for it when your boss lady gets thrown to prison and probably killed. This isn't my best work. But I'm alive, so, hey, success!" She wasn't about to say that her head was killing her, or that she wasn't too sure _how_ she survived, but she wasn't as proud of that vessel as she made it sound. Still, it was a consolation to know that none of her colleagues on the Ark would have managed what she just did.

"We'll call it a success when you can stand," the General replied, but despite her harsh tone, it seemed like she'd decided Raven was straightforward enough to trust, because she helped her up and out of the pod. 

Raven stood and looked around for the first time. She was on Earth! She made it! She mentally celebrated that feat; she'd never thought anyone would go back to the ground at any point in her lifetime, let alone herself! There were trees, and moonlight  coming through the clouds, and wind! All things she'd never thought she'd experience any more directly than in a space suit... And there was life, too, birds chirping, and houses besides the wooden fence she'd destroyed upon landing, although they were not like the ones she'd seen in the books and records from the past. People were going about their daily activities, looking warily at the pod, and the stranger that just came out of it. They seemed normal, no different than the people on the Ark, really, rather more tanned, and some of them tattooed, but altogether... human.

"We'll have to talk about this invasion, but once you've been checked out by our healer. You're no used to us dead." the General lead her to a house, where a couple empty beds were all the furniture there was, and forced her to lie down.

"Jeez, thanks! Look, we're not trying to invade anything," she tried to explain as a big man with unkempt hair and blue tattoos on his face tried to examine her.

"The others who came from the sky tried to reach the Mountain. You tell me that is not an act of war?"

 In-between answering questions about her pain and breathing slowly on the healer's orders (the man was glaring at his general to stop distracting his patient, but to no avail), Raven tried to explain.

"How can it be an act of war when we did not know any humans were still alive on the Ground? Did they manage to reach the mountain? That was the only place close-by where we knew there were resources, they're gonna die out there if they don't find them!"

"Your little friends are doing fine." the General assured her in a sneer. "They're learning to hunt, though they're scaring the beasts more than anything. And they've somehow managed not to poison themselves with plants, which on its own is incredible, considering how silly they look. Whoever your Commander is, they must not have thought very long before sending these kids to the ground!"

"No kidding." She sighed. "What's with the Mountain? Is it a sacred ground or something? Why couldn't they reach it?"

"We stopped them." The answer came stern, almost menacing. "We will not let you ally with the mountain, whatever your intentions."

Oh, so, enemies. "Like I said, we didn't know anyone was still on the Ground. All they thought they would find was some food!" A thought hit her. "You didn't hurt them, did you?"

"We might have." The General tilted her head. "You care about them."

"They're just _kids_!" Raven exclaimed, standing up quickly before realising this may not have been the cleverest idea, and standing down. The woman hadn't even flinched, she just quietly put her hand on the hilt of a dagger hanging from her belt, which Raven hadn't noticed before. Raven sighed. "If I tell you everything, will you help me?"

The General scoffed. "Why would I agree to that without even knowing what you're going to tell me? I don't break my oaths, and I don't make them lightly. And what would I gain from helping you? You clearly have nothing to offer me." The woman seemed to consider her for a moment, head tilted. Raven kept the eye contact, not flinching for a second. This could be crucial, and she needed that woman's trust. People clearly looked up to her around here, and Raven would need these people on their side if she wanted to save the hundred. The Council clearly _wasn't_  on their side.

Their staring match was interrupted by the healer's "She'll be alright, Anya. She just need to rest, I'll give her something for the pain and check on her later."

Raven tried not to smile at the General's - Anya's - frown. She was clearly displeased that he'd revealed her name, making her lose the upper hand.

"I'm Raven," she offered with a smile when the healer had left. Maybe that would even the odds. She held out her hand, hoping handshakes were still in vogue, and hadn't become an insult. 

Anya looked at her hand with eyebrows raised, maybe impressed that she knew of that custom, or just wondering what her next move should be in this improvised game of chess. She eventually took Raven's arm, clasping it before the elbow, and Raven mimicked the gesture, hoping it didn't show that she had no clue this was the actual custom. 

"Alright, Raven," Anya finally said with a wry smile. It seemed she'd come to a decision eventually. "Tell me your story, and I'll see what I can do for you."

"You might want to take a seat, General. It's gonna be a long while. Besides, you're making me dizzy."

"Oh, well, we wouldn't want to inconvenience our patient." The answer was gruff, but Raven could discern the hint of a smile behind the woman's cold appearance. She was warming up to her. And if she were honest, Raven was warming up to her too. It wasn't just her ticket to saving the others and herself, or the people on the Ark. If they had to live on the ground from now on, they'd have to make allies. Friends. Anya seemed like a kindred spirit she could get along with.

She sat back into her bed of feathers and furs, leaning against the wall behind her. She may be weakened, and tired after a few days of nonstop work, and her literal fall from the sky, but she still had her pride, and she was not gonna slump into bed to tell her story to this General lady who already looked down on her for her weakness. 

She launched into her story, from the very beginning, what little she knew of it from history classes - how the nuclear war started and ravaged the earth; how the people of the thirteen stations all thought it was too late to save anyone, and decided that at this level of radiation their best bet was to stay together, build the Ark, and wait the radiations out. How the 13th Station was destroyed. How the Council worked, in short. Then, her job, what little she could explain of it to a woman who had never been to space - she skipped what had happened with Finn, that was their story. How the kids got down to earth.

"You have to understand, on the Ark, every crime is punishable by death. From stealing medicine or food to killing people - same punishment for all. Only when you're still a kid, they give you half a chance to defend yourself when you turn 18, before they Float or release you."

"Float?" Anya frowned.

"Throw you out of the Ark without equipment. You're sent into space and die from exposure and lack of oxygen, almost instantly."

"Sounds painful.... So, these kids - they're them, right?"

"Yeah, some of them are bad news. Most aren't, though. They've stolen medicine to save their family, or tried to grab more food because they were still hungry, or got into a fight with the wrong person. I've heard one of them is in there just for being born.... Only child policy. Anyways, we're dying - I mean, the Ark. We can't fix the oxygen because these assholes had rather not tell us so we wouldn't panic, than let us fix it. So now they're running out of time, and they had to see if the ground was survivable. And what better than to sacrifice the kids - half of them is going to die anyways. And I kinda hate the Council but they're gonna sacrifice a lot more innocent people to buy themselves some time, if they don't hear back from the kids soon. If they're not warned that the Earth is survivable. And the kids, they're angry, obviously. So they're destroying the bracelets that kept the Ark knowing they're alive... I need to use my radio to warn them, tell them they can come to Earth safely." She was pleading by then. There was no use pretending the Council were nice, or benevolent, but surely for so many lives, Anya would understand!

"Tell me, now, what is the Ark for? If they don't care about how many people they're sacrificing, children included, so long as a few can survive, I'm guessing all they want is for humanity to go on. But we've never disappeared. And if they've reached this level of cruelty, why should we help them get here? So they can reproduce the mistakes of our ancestors? Why would we share our land with people who would kill their children, their civilians? They can't do right by their own people, why wouldn't they invade us, and kill us, the moment they get to the ground?"

"You can have no guarantees. I knew this lady at the Council, she's the one who told me all this - her daughter has been imprisoned and sent to the Ground for trying to warn people about the oxy problem. But sh's probably dead by now, they caught her when we tried to escape... But letting them all die would just make you as bad as them. You know things about the ground that we don't, though. I imagine things have changed a lot in the past hundred years or so. That's leverage. Not to mention the kids, some of them are from important families, close to the Council."

"Here I left from Polis to escape the politics," Anya mumbled.

"Polis?" Raven perked up. "Like Minneapolis?"

"That's what people called it before. It's our capital. It's just Polis now. It's not like there were many cities, or even villages, left to tell apart from one another, at first." She sighed. "I'll have to send back to the capital to check with our Commander, I'm afraid. I can't decide for the Twelve Tribes. How long before they start killing people?"

"A day, maybe less. I'm afraid they've rushed the process once they'd found Abby out."

"I'll do my best, we'll send our fastest horse." 

"I could go with, so I could contact them as soon as we know."

"You're clearly not in a state to travel!" 

"Well, I could show your rider how to use it. Although they might be suspicious if it's not someone they know who talks to them."

"All that matters is that they know Earth is survivable, right? Then, a day from then they can talk to you again and make sure you're okay, if they do care about that."

Raven couldn't tell whether it was her own portrayal of the Council, but Anya clearly didn't like them already. That made two of them at least...

"Alright, anything else?"

"The kids, I'm assuming you won't let me see them. But could you try and help them? Or just, not kill them?" Raven pleaded again.

"That I can do without the commander's blessing. But I doubt they'l like that. You know them, right? Some of them at least, you seemed really implicated."

Raven resented the implication that she would not have cared about hundreds of lives lost were they not friends, but Anya was perceptive and also right. she nodded.

"Then we'll wait til you're feeling better. And I can get a  better idea of the situation from my scouts. It'll be easier to make contact with you there. If I still think it's a good idea," she added for good measure. "I'll let you rest." 

When she'd left, Raven pondered that she was not "letting her rest" but leaving her to wonder about the fate of her people - and probably her own - with nothing else to do, while Anya was probably going on with her life as usual.


	2. Chapter 2

She did not stay alone with her thoughts very long, though, as a man soon came in and asked her if she could move, so she could get the radio out of her pod without damaging it. He would leave for Polis as soon as she had explained how it worked. Anxious to see him go, she agreed and got up - careful to do it slowly this time, so no dizziness would give her away. Her healer might disapprove, but the fates of way more people were at stake than just her own. 

Soon enough they were at her pod, and she got in to unhook the radio. She didn't bother to repress a smile when the warrior told her not to try anything silly.

"I'm not gonna drive away on my spaceship, it's toast! And I'm not going to run away, you could clearly outrun me. Besides, I couldn't see them but I'm sure the whole place is surrounded by guards. You're armed, and I've seen people with bows. I don't intend to die... And I'm not going to try and activate the radio because I'm sure what would ensue would not be good for either me or my people." 

She finished unhooking the device and turned around in her seat to look at the man. It was important she make a good impression on him, almost as much as on Anya, if he was the one carrying her message to whoever their Commander was. 

"Now, here's how you use it." She launched into an explanation she hoped was easy. There were just a few buttons to push, but there was still the matter of the frequency. Still, Grounders couldn't have forgotten everything about technology in the past hundred years, right? Even if they did not have the tools to build it (and why not, if they could do it on the Ark?), they must at least have gathered every ressource that wasn't destroyed in the war. Or they'd know some history... In any case, she must have done it right, because the warrior in front of her was soon able to explain it back to her. 

"Great! You're ready to go then! Just, I don't know how often it rains here, but please, try not to let any water on it? Wrap it in something?"

"Got it. It's important to you, isn't it?" the nameless man asked. 

"My people? Yeah... I mean, they're not all good, but most of them are innocent. They didn't ask about any of this. Some of them probably don't even know... All they're asking is for a chance to live."

"Don't worry. I'll deliver the message on time." He squeezed her shoulder before he left her there.

"If your Commander agrees," Raven mumbled to herself. 

She realised as she saw him gallop out of the village (that was a horse, right? The first real horse she'd ever seen! ... Was it an impression or did it have to heads?!) that she'd been left to her own devices, alone at the edge of the village. She did not even try to run away, though. She did not know whether it was a test, but she did know she was in a world that looked nothing like the previsions they'd made on the Ark, and she did not want to try and survive in it alone. She had no clue where the others were, either. No, for good or bad, she was here now, so she might try and start acting as the Arkers' ambassador here... someone would have to, and they probably shouldn't let the delinquents do it. Even though she did not doubt most of them were decent people. Finn was amongst them after all...

She walked back into the village. The sun had started to rise now, and everything was in shades of grey, but she could see people still going around, even more so than when she landed. Of course she must have woken them up with her crashing down on them (lucky she didn't hurt anyone, or even explode upon landing and destroy the whole village!), must be why they came out to stare at her the first time. Now, though, some of them eyed her suspiciously, but most of them were going about their work without paying any attention to her. 

When she walked back into the healer's house, Anya was waiting for her, sitting on a chair one ankle resting on her other knee, and reading through a book. Raven stopped at the entrance. She wasn't quite sure she was supposed to see this - the General entirely relaxed, absolutely not on her guard, a small smile at the corner of her lips from what she was reading. Raven didn't want to bother her, but she didn't exactly have anywhere else to go...

Finally Anya turned towards her. "It's rude to stare. Or did you think I hadn't heard you arrive? You make as much noise as a Pauna!"

Raven knew she should have been offended, but between Anya's smile and her ignorance...

"A pauna?"

"Giant... ape? Gorilla? I suppose?" 

"Things have changed a lot around here in the past century, I assume..."

Anya laughed. "Don't they ever?"

"Could you tell me about it? About your world - what happened since the war?"

"Some time. Not now, though." Anya became serious again. "You asked that we help those you call "delinquents". I've decided that we would. We're going to reach out to them - you're coming with us so they'll trust us more, and you can make sure they're alive to report to your Ark, if the Commander gives you that opportunity."

She didn't wait for Raven's assent to get up and go out, probably assuming that Raven would follow her. She gave some orders, and soon enough a group of warriors had gathered around what must be the main square. They looked at Raven suspiciously, but Anya told them she was with them as far as they were concerned and if anything happened they had to protect her like one of their people. If they weren't happy with their general's order, they were good at hiding it. It did leave Raven wondering how bad the local threats were. Surely they didn't just fear the kids? 

They kept throwing her looks, and Raven soon realised she wasn't going as fast as they were used to, and she wasn't nearly as silent as they were. But eh, give her a break, she just arrived on earth, she wasn't used to all the crunchy leaves and branches under her feet, and she just _crashed,_ she wasn't exactly in her best health either. Anya, who was leading the group while the others surrounded her, looked back over her shoulder and slowed down ever so slightly, adapting her pace to Raven's. 

Raven was certain her plan involved something more subtle than just walking up to the gate of the delinquents' quickly built barricade - sign that they were alive and adapting quick, contrary to the Ark's stupid expectations - but Anya probably ditched that. Raven was anything but discreet, and, as Anya whispered to her troops, the kids had no weapons but knives, and she didn't seem to worry much that they might just try and throw them. Some of the warriors split from the group, and Raven assumed they went to act as sentinels or to cover their retreat if there had to be one. Anya definitely was not taking any chances, even with a bunch of kids. She was probably right, after all, most may just be delinquents, but some of them were murderers too... What went through the Council's heads, to decide to send them all down here together? Or did they just never consider it might actually be survivable?

In any case, Raven found herself walking forward, a safe distance from the gate, with Anya holding her by the arm like she was some hostage, her other hand on the sword at her side. The general called out towards the gate: "I want to speak to your leader!"

Someone hiding behind the gate sneered at her. "And who are you? We have no leader!"

Raven recognized Murphy's voice for all the times she visited Finn.

"I'm the general of the local clan," Anya proclaimed, head held high, ignoring the affront. "You're on our territory." 

"Let me do this," Raven whispered. 

Anya frowned, but then nodded courtly. 

"You have no leader? That's bullshit, Murphy! You want me to believe you're standing watch out of the goodness of your heart? My ass!"

"Raven? The fuck are you doing here?"

"I'm saving your asses! Now, get whoever's in charge to come here and have a chat with Lady General here!"

"You're the one who crashed, aren't you?" 

"Yes! Now, get a move on!"

He disappeared behind the barricade, and they waited. After some time, Raven thought they'd never come out, but the gate opened slightly, letting some tall guy come out. Behind him came Finn, and Raven would have thrown herself at him were she not still being held by Anya. But... what the fuck? He was holding hands with a blonde girl that came just behind him?! As they approached, Raven recognized her as Clarke, Abby's daughter, from the pictures she'd seen up in the Council room. They were so engrossed in each other, even as they were walking towards a parley, that Finn only belatedly realised Raven was in front of him, and awkwardly let go of blondie's hand. Murphy behind them grinned when his eye met Raven's. So he hadn't told them on purpose... Part of her hated him for that low blow, but at least now she knew what to expect... To think she'd risked her life for that asshole... 

And here he went, trying to pretend nothing had just happened - maybe he thought she was stupid, or maybe he hoped she hadn't seen - and tried to come forward to give her a hug - only to be forcefully pushed back by Anya. 

"Step back. She's with us now. At least until we know we have an agreement."

"Are you okay?" Finn asked meekly. 

Raven shook her arm, and Anya apparently decided to trust her not to do something stupid, because she let her go. Raven didn't make a move to go towards Finn and the others. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and decided to, well, stand her ground. 

"I'm fine!" she assured him, more aggressively than she wished. "I didn't almost die just to save your ass while you were having fun down here, so I'm fine." She turned towards Clarke. It was her Abby sent her for, after all, and if she was going to refrain from making a scene in the middle of the parleys, she had better ignore Finn. "Your mom was worried you were all dying, she sent me here to check on you."

Clarke glared towards Murphy and the other boy. "They took our bracelets off."

Raven glanced at Anya. "We're going to contact them, with the Grounder Commander's agreement." She could not let them know there was a small chance that wouldn't work out, or this whole thing could blow up in their faces. "Meanwhile, I convinced the General here," she was careful not to say her name, knowing Anya hadn't liked that when she found out herself, "to help you." 

"We don't need any help," the older boy said. "We're doing just fine." 

"You're scaring the game for miles," Anya sneered. "What are you going to eat once you're done with all the weaklings that were left behind? And the winter's fast approaching. You don't know when you can have reinforcements, if you're going to get any. You're going to die out there, of cold and thirst, if the acid fog doesn't get you first."

The kids all shuddered, and Raven knew they had encountered whatever that acid fog was before. Now was not the time to ask questions.

"That wouldn't have happened if you didn't shoot our friend when we tried to get to Mount Weather!" 

Raven noticed Clarke rolled her eyes at the boy's words.

"You're the one who wanted to kill him off, Bellamy, and you weren't even there! Jasper's fine, so maybe we can put that behind us!"

Bellamy grumbled. 

"Bellamy, uh?" Raven went. "It's funny how you would give the Grounders lessons in civility when you tried to kill the Chancellor!"

"You did _what?!_ " they all exclaimed. 

Clarke took a deep breath. "Okay, let's calm down, we'll see about internal politics later! Point is, they're right, we'll need them!"

"Clarke," Finn crooned. "I'm not comfortable making an alliance with the people who've tried to kill Jasper." 

Raven wondered for half a second why they directly assumed it was them. Maybe they thought Anya's people were the only ones left...

"They also tried to save him," Clarke pointed out, before she turned towards Anya. "Maybe you have an explanation for that."

"Mount Weather is off limits." Anya simply stated. "There are people living there, and they exterminate my people. Turn them into monsters."

"Who's to say they wouldn't make better allies than you?" Bellamy spit out.

"They would massacre you. They'd find a way to exploit you. Besides, we are not giving you a choice. You can decide to keep living on your own so long as you aren't violent with my people, but anyone who crosses to Mount Weather will be killed. Your Jasper friend was just a warning." She looked down for half a second before she stared back straight ahead. "It would be a small mercy to kill you, really."

Since they didn't seem to believe her, she added: "they're the ones who make the acid fog."

After that, there was a heated, hushed argument between the Arkers, in which Raven could hear something about Bellamy and a pardon, or something. She didn't know what that had to do with anything, but he was probably worried about their contacting the Ark... Not that it was in their control anymore. Clarke seemed very adamant that they agree with Anya's offer, and Finn obviously sided with her. She noticed how he almost wrapped his arm around Clarke's waist before he looked up at Raven guiltily. Like he'd even forgotten she was there...

Finally they all turned back towards Anya, and Clarke held out her hand. "We agree. We'll welcome your help in learning how to take care of ourselves, and anything else you can tell us about Earth, and this enemy of yours. I figure it's gonna be a common enemy now, if we are to be allies."

"I doubt _you_  can do anything against them," Anya snorted, but she did shake her hand - weirdly, clasping her arm at the elbow. Then she seemed to give it more thought. "But if your people has technology we don't, it might come to that." She appraised their quickly built barricade. "At least you're not entirely stupid." 

Bellamy almost jumped at her. Surprisingly, Murphy was the one to hold him back, whispering angrily as if that would calm him. "She's not wrong, have you seen the chaos we made when we landed? A freaking twelve-year-old almost killed Wells, and you had me hanged for it!"

"I only meant, you don't know anything," Anya added. If that was how she thought she could smooth things over, Raven doubted a General should ever handle peace talks... "You could learn. Train. Fight alongside us. But that will not happen so long as we're not sure of your loyalties. And your people's response."

The others nodded. 

Raven had a hunch that for all intents and purposes the Arkers would be Anya's hostages if things turned sour with the Ark. She'd quickly understood that, for all that they were delinquents, some of them were valuable to the Council. And Raven hadn't painted the most glorious portrait of the Ark. Anya seemed willing to help, for now, but she couldn't blame her for securing her situation. She was already taking a huge bet in offering her help to criminals. Maybe the others would realise that, but Raven wasn't about to tell them. She might trust a few of them, but certainly not all. Hell, she clearly couldn't even trust Finn anymore... She should have known long ago that "family" never was a positive thing to have. 

"Alright," Anya said. "Do you need a healer or anything? I imagine your friend has recovered by now?" She must be talking about Jasper, Raven pieced back from the earlier conversation. 

"He is, not thanks to you!" Bellamy let out. 

"Nor you!" Clarke snapped. "Now stop it! We agreed." She turned to Anya. "Thank you. We won't need a healer, but we could use someone to show us the plants that we can eat and the ones that heal. We only know the ones that existed before the war, and we've had some unfortunate surprises." 

Raven wondered for a moment how all these kids weren't dead already. But you had to admire Clarke's levelheadedness. She was a lot like Abby, Raven realised. And whatever show the guys were putting on, she was the one really in charge here. 

"We could also learn to hunt," Clarke said hopefully. "As you said, winter will come soon, we'll need food, and we can't always rely on you. I imagine you have your own people to feed."

"You really _aren't_  stupid," Anya smiled, a bit condescendingly. "We're not back to the stone age yet, we do some farming too... We'll bring you food for the time being. You aren't going to get those skills honed in a day... Now, for our part, we will be dealing with your people up there." She pointed at the sky. "But you'll have to respect some ground rules. No guns," she said, looking pointedly at Bellamy, and Raven noticed she had only been addressing Clarke so far. "They attract the Mountain Men, and then you never come back. Or worse. Besides, you would be dead before you could pull the trigger. And you will respect our people. And our land. I expect if your people do strike an alliance with the Trikru, the Commander will want a show of good faith, but we will see to that later."

A few more arrangements were made, and Anya and her warriors seemed ready to head back to the village, Raven hesitated, before she turned to Anya. "Wait for me a moment, while I talk to them?" 

The General frowned. 

"I just need to tell Clarke about her mom. And some things about the Ark. You can stay if you want to make sure I don't say anything bad about you," she smiled.

Anya raised an eyebrow. "I just assumed you would want to stay with them."

"No. I need to see this thing through. I need to be there when your man returns with the radio. Besides," she looked back towards where Finn was standing, close to Clarke, "there's nothing left for me here."

Anya nodded silently, and stepped away while Raven talked to Clarke. She explained quickly what her mother's plan had been... And delivered the bad news. It was hard - she barely knew the girl, and she wanted to feel jealous, because it hurt to know that she clearly got close to Finn, too close - but she liked Abby, for the small time she had got to know her, and Clarke seemed nice too, even if she'd seen her for less than an hour. She was smart, and yet she still looked like a kid. Raven did not regret her own mother's death, and yet she still remembered the shock it had been for her then. When Clarke crumbled into her arms, she rubbed her back softly - glaring at Finn over her shoulder. If he was to get close, right now, she would snap. She would punch him. This was not his story. To think he had been there for her then, it disgusted her. 

Finally Clarke pulled away, rubbing at her eyes. 

"Thank you," she whispered. "I know my mother... I mean, I learned things... about her... My father... But still, she's... She was my mom!"

Raven just nodded. She said softly, "There's still a small chance, they've spared her once, when she saved the Chancellor. But... don't hope too much."

"By the way... If you can contact the Ark... try to get some kind of pardon for Bellamy? Especially if Jaha isn't dead... Tell him Bellamy can say who made him do it if he's assured to be forgiven."

Raven took some more news from the other delinquents to relay to the Ark - the death toll was much lower than what the Ark thought, but she would still have to bear the bad news to too many families. Wells, she noted for the Chancellor, was badly wounded by a kid for some complicated story, but he was alive. Recovering. As was Jasper, and a few others. All in all, the kids had adapted better than anyone had assumed. Raven still couldn't believe what the Ark did. 

Finally, she left Clarke's side to follow Anya - but someone grabbed her hand. She turned around to find Finn standing in front of her, and quickly shook him off.

"Eh, Rae," he smiled. "You came all this way and you don't even talk to me?"

"Don't."

"What?" He made the usual puppy eyes he gave her when he did something stupid and wanted her forgiveness. But this was not something she was about to forgive.

"Yeah, I come all this way to find you, to check that you're alive, because I love you! And then I find you holding hands with some chick I know for a fact you've known for like a _week_? What do you expect, Finn?" She tried to keep her voice low. That was no-one's concern but theirs. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Please, Raven, I didn't... It means nothing, I... I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Oh, please. Don't tell me Clarke didn't tell you the Ark was dying and we'd all have to come to the ground eventually! None of you looked one bit surprised when that came up!"

Finn stared at his feet. 

"At least tell me you didn't sleep with her."

Finn looked back at her, then down again, before he seemed to find the words to tell her he didn't, in fact. But He'd always been a terrible liar. 

"You could at least be honest with me."

"Oh, come on!" He got angry now, and Raven had had enough of this. She didn't even want to listen to his excuse, but she did anyway, and what he said next made her go pale: "come on, Rae, I saved your ass up there, you can't be mad at me for this! It was nothing! I went to prison for you, and now you're angry at me for... for a little tryst?"

"Don't," she repeated, harsher this time. "You saved me and I'm grateful, but that never gave you the right to treat me like that. I considered you family! And you act like I don't exist because there's a couple thousand miles between us? Meanwhile I was _also_  risking my life to come to you." She looked at Clarke who was standing there, a few feet away, trying to piece together what was happening. Raven raised her voice. "I hope she sees you for what you are." 

And on that, she turned her back to him, and walked straight to Anya, determined not to turn around. She did, though, when she saw Anya look behind her with a smile. All she caught was Clarke glaring at him and moving away from him. 

"So that's why you came to the ground, uh?" Anya raised an eyebrow at her as they walked back towards the village.

"Shut up."


	3. Chapter 3

Once again Raven was alone, this time in a small house that got assigned to her for the duration of her stay. Anya had said she was welcome to take her meals with her, and that she would answer as many of her questions as she could, but Raven wasn't hungry. In fact, she wasn't sure she could stomach anything right now. 

She might have looked brave in front of the others, and told Finn off, but now that she was left with herself, it all caught up with her, and she could hardly contain her sobs. No, she was stronger than that, she wouldn't let this affect her! 

But the truth was, how could it _not_ affect her, when she'd shared everything with him, when he'd been her family, when he'd been with her all through their childhood, when she was dealing with her mother, when she dealt with being unable to become a mechanic - he'd always been here for her, he was the first and only person she'd ever been with intimately, too. And to find out that meant nothing to him, that all this trust, their relationship, their friendship - all that could been wiped away by a week spent away from her, just because there's a nice bangable girl right there in front of him, and anyway poor Raven will probably die up there so she'll never know, right? That she meant so little to him, when he meant so much to her, she just couldn't stomach. Had he even thought about her since he landed? The thought of him thinking about her while he was with another made her sick. And if he'd only forgotten Raven because he was too busy trying to survive, but no! No, the first thing he did when he came to earth, of all the things one could do here, was to cheat on her! 

Was she worth so little? Was she so unlovable? Part of her knew it was just him who was a dick, but she couldn't help think that, if she'd done things differently, if she'd been more friendly. If she hadn't been the reason he was sent in prison, as he so rightly pointed out... And yet she did her best to visit him as often as she could, to be there for him. Hell, she even went on this possibly deadly trip to the ground, just to find him, to help him - even though he might just be dead - because she needed to _know_  what had happened to him. But he did not think she was even worth a week of abstinence before moving on?!

And how _dare he_  act like it was her fault, how dare he pretend it was _her_ doing if he couldn't keep it in his pants! Not that she'd even ever really enjoyed it with him, but she'd always did do it, because it wasn't bad, and _he_ did like it, and want it, and it was more about bonding to her than anything, but apparently that _bond_ she thought they had together, that trust - it was nothing to him. Could she even trust him as a friend now? When really, he betrayed her trust in all possible ways. 

He had no respect for her... It was hard to realise so many years into a relationship. She suddenly had the urge to punch him, and she wished she had done just that when he was standing right in front of her. Now it was just frustrating, and she felt more tears build up behind her closed eyelids. What was she supposed to do now? He'd been such a great part of her life, and now... It was like she had to throw away all these years of friendship, of companionship, like it never happened because to him, it clearly didn't! 

And wasn't she worth that much respect at least? Couldn't he at least pretend to be sorry, and not like it was nothing, and that she should forgive him on the spot. She felt cheap, dirtied, and the thoughts ran in circle in her mind, overwhelming, making her wonder what it was about her - other than her terrible choice of partner - that made him treat her like that.

Eventually she thought she'd had enough. Finn was an asshole, but she'd met assholes before. This one would hurt for a while, but nothing ever stopped Raven Reyes, and this wasn't gonna be it either. She had a life to live, and a whole world to explore that she never thought she could see while she lived, and this had to be like stepping out into space - you left your shit behind and you enjoyed. And did the work, of course. That was just what she'd have to do. Move on, live for herself - prove the asshole she could do without him, too. 

So she did just that - she wiped her eyes, cleaned up her face with some water that had been left there for her, discarded the bloody, dirty clothes she arrived in for some that were given her by the locals (Anya did do her best to make her feel welcome, didn't she?) and when she thought she was presentable enough, she took a deep breath and stepped out of her new house. Time to get to know her new world!

 

Outside the sky was already going dark, but two little girls, barely more than two or three years old, were still outside, playing with wooden swords. One of them saw her, and tried to attack her - a bit timidly, not knowing how this stranger would respond. Raven parred the first hit with her forearm, but then pretended to be really hurt, and let the little girl hit her in the stomach, falling dramatically when she did. The little girl started laughing at her, and it made Raven smile. As she got up, she could see the people around the village looking at her. They visibly relaxed when they saw how she behaved towards the kids. She would never hurt them, but of course they couldn't know that...

"You're a terrible fighter!" the little girl exclaimed.

"I am!" Raven answered honestly, laughing at the kid's directness. "But maybe you could teach me?"

The girl giggled. "You're too old! You're like, mega old! I can't teach you!"

Raven pouted, though she was not sure whether the girl meant she was too young herself to teach her, or whether it was too late for Raven and she was a lost case already. Kids were just funny like that. She patted the girl's cheek and left them to their games. It was a short way to Anya's house, on the outskirts of the village, but long enough that Raven got caught up in her thoughts again, and as she knocked on the door she wasn't even sure what she was doing there anymore.

Light came in from the inside, bright and warm, when Anya opened the door for her, and stood to the side to let her in. As she came in, Raven noticed two things: it was agreeably warm compared to the chilly outside, thanks to a fire burning in the hearth. And Anya was much more relaxed - for one, she had done away with the face paint she had worn all day as General, and most of the furs were gone, leaving her dressed not so differently from anyone on the Ark. Raven idly wondered if that meant that when her ship crashed, Anya quickly put on all that makeup just to look fierce and scary to the hypothetical enemy. Seemed like a waste of time to her, but she had to admit it had its effect. 

Now, though, Anya looked much softer when she stared at her weirdly and said she was no longer expecting her. Maybe she should apologize, but right then she didn't really want to think. She just saw the way  Anya was looking at her, and when the door closed behind them Raven decided why the hell not, and stepped closer to Anya, pushing her lips against hers. 

She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about doing this before. The general was a sight for sore eyes, and Raven had caught the way she'd looked at her, and what she thought was some light jealousy when it came to Finn. And it wasn't like she didn't want to. It was just, well, there was Finn. But now, Anya was there, right in front of her, looking all soft and welcoming, and Raven needed to know she was desirable still, needed to know she could still have that effect on someone. She needed to feel close to someone again, no strings attached, she needed to put the rest behind her and move on, She needed to feel warmth again, and not like she'd been trod on. And Anya looked like she could do that for her. Looked like she'd gladly do it, too, as she answered in kind, deepening the kiss and holding on to Raven's waist -

 -  but when Raven slid her hands under Anya's shirt, she moved back suddenly, holding her by the shoulders. 

"Wait." 

Raven hadn't thought how much that would sting, being rejected like that - twice in the same day too. Maybe she really was undesirable, maybe no-one really wanted her, maybe there was something with her that was wrong after all, it wasn't just that Finn was an asshole. She regretted coming here, even if she hadn't planned to do any of that. She didn't know what came to her, but now all she wanted was to turn around, to be alone again, to not have to face Anya ever again and the knowledge of having been wrong, of having fancied the woman liked her when it had been none of that. How stupid she'd been! But Anya was still holding her, and when Raven tried to turn around, to flee, Anya kept her in place. When Raven tried to look down, Anya just tilted her head back up to make her look into her eyes, the last thing Raven wanted to do right then. She didn't want to see Anya's contempt, her anger, her disgust maybe, her pity. That's not what she found there. 

Anya's pupils were blown up with desire - or maybe it was just the low light, Raven told herself, but mostly just concern, and maybe care, as Anya's eyebrows were knotted together in a frown. 

"Don't get me wrong and just run away," she said softly, more softly than Raven would ever have thought Anya was capable of. She let her hand wander to stroke Raven's cheek, and Raven felt her heart skip a bit. "I do want this to happen, and I wish - but you'd regret it, and you'd hate me for letting you do that to yourself."

Raven shook her head, pulling herself away. Anya was close, definitely too close. She let her go, this time, though. And now Raven was getting angry, too angry to just leave. Did she really have to be so condescending? She'd made it clear she wasn't happy with the situation, couldn't she let Raven be? No, of course not, she had to act like she cared and like she knew better. "What do you know? Why'd you assume to know what's best for me?!"

"I don't, but I've been there before. I won't do that to you." She was strangely calm for someone who was getting yelled at, and it only served to infuriate Raven even more. "Raven, you're yelling at me. You're obviously not okay. I don't know that guy or whatever he meant to you, but he obviously hurt you, and you're not gonna get over that like this. You're just going to hurt yourself even more, and that may be on him but you're the one who'll suffer."

"That's bullshit!" 

"Alright," Anya nodded. She sat down nonchalantly at one of the wooden chairs around her small table, crossing her legs and draping an arm around the back of the chair like she was going to win the argument and she knew it. "Just tell me you know you won't regret it."

"I won't..." Raven started, before she realised she didn't believe one word of what she'd just said, and she was about as bad a liar as Finn was. Also, she really needed to stop thinking about everything through him. She deflated. 

Anya sighed, and indicated the chair next to her with her chin. Raven let herself flop down on the chair. Well, she'd just made a fool of herself in front of this total stranger, and also probably made clear all of her anxieties and romance issues, so there really wasn't anything more embarrassing she could do now; she might as well own it. 

"I just... need to stop thinking," she confessed.

"Let's have a drink then," Anya decided. She smiled "You might regret it too, though."

She got up and got out of a cupboard what Raven was pretty sure were tankards. She'd never even tried moonshine before, but there had to be a beginning to everything.  

 

And oh, did she regret it! 

She woke up in Anya's bed - wholly clothed except for her shoes - with the worst headache in history. Anya had left a bucket at the side of the bed, but Raven was pretty sure she didn't throw up. That was at least that much of her dignity she had left... And, well, Anya was right at least, it had worked to make her forget her problems - and now she'd be too busy hurting to think too much. Right now, it seemed sex would have been a far healthier idea, but now that most of her anger had been dissolved in alcohol, she knew Anya had been right. It'd have left her with a far more bitter taste in her mouth, and for far longer. 

It took her a while to will herself to get up instead of hiding from the light under the covers, but when she finally did, she found Anya in the adjacent kitchen, who handed her a tall glass full of a golden brown liquid.

"Drink." 

She wasn't speaking too loud, thank goodness, but even so it made Raven's head hurt. She frowned and grumbled. "How aren't you even a little bit hungover? And what is this?"

"Moderation," Anya laughed. "And habit. And it's just apple juice. No alcohol. You need to get re-hydrated. Since you refused to drink anything _but_  alcohol last night..."

Raven had only vague memories of that, but she recalled Anya advising she drink some water to make it easier for her in the morning. She took note to always believe the locals when it came to their own food and traditions. 

"Thanks," she mumbled as she took a seat and downed the glass. She wasn't gonna live this down any time soon, was she. 

Anya grinned when she made that remark. She was about to say something, but they were interrupted by a hurried knock on the door. 

"General," a young warrior said, out of breath, once Anya had invited her in. "The Commander  is on her way!"

Anya looked surprised for half a second, but then the General in her, practical and quick, seemed to take over. "Alright, I'm coming. Let's welcome her as is due." Once the warrior had left them alone again, she turned to Raven. "I hope you can recover quickly."


End file.
